Lange titles his debut album "Southern Stars". On the one hand, this reflects the stars in the sky of the German south, where the native Bavarian comes from. "In melodic death metal, everything is always 'Northern,'" Lange notes with a grin. "But well, I happen to be 'Southern' instead." On the other hand, the album title stands for the "Southern Stars" over the Pacific Ocean - landmarks of the Polynesian navigators that the song "Cadettes And Navigators" is about. Last but not least, one of Lange's greatest fascinations is hidden behind those "Southern Stars": science fiction.
Callider: At home in unknown worlds
Even as a child, he was fascinated by the stories of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, the dystopias of Aldous Huxley and the countless sci-fi stories of genre pope Isaac Asimov. When Lange becomes a father himself, he rediscovers his fascination with the otherworldly and remembers how many inspiring moments he was able to experience as a child through science fiction. This is reflected in the space-themed album cover by graphic designer Dominique van Velsen. "When you're a kid and a teenager, you have a lot of firsts," Lange finds. "But the older you get, the less that happens, which is a shame. Music is a good way to discover new feelings even as an adult, and to venture into unfamiliar territory."
It's on uncharted territory that Lange feels most at home; time and again, he pushes the boundaries of the genre-typical. For the Callider debut, for example, he not only collaborates with various jazz musicians, lets a drunken shanty choir sound in "Cadettes And Navigators" and drums around on a metal ashtray for lack of better-sounding alternatives. He doesn't shy away from chamber instruments, either, and also makes use of a wide range of percussion that comes his way while working on the record. He enlists the help of musician friends to help him realize his vision, whether it's playing instruments or recording vocal tracks. The album was recorded at Metal House Studio in Turin and at Roony Road Studio in Nuremberg. Ettore Rigotti (Disarmonia Mundi) and Dominik Back were responsible for the production.
Stefan Lange also sets himself no limits when it comes to music videos, in the truest sense of the word. The clip for the first single "Short Steps," for example, comes from the award-winning Filipino indie director Khavn de la Cruz, who has attracted international attention above all with his documentary "Mondomanila“. In the film, Cruz portrays the life of a young street gang from the Philippine capital Manila. This same street gang can now also be seen in the music video for "Short Steps" - as Lange’s band. For the second music video for "This Road," he headed to Athens to work with filmmaker Giorgos Efthimiou.
The possibilities of music
Lange's musicianship began through his father. "There was always exciting stuff going on on our record player at home," the musician says. "Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull ... That's what I grew up with." Lange experienced what was probably his most decisive moment as a teenager, when his father arranged to go to a Deep Purple concert in Regensburg's Donau Arena with a few work colleagues, but then spontaneously couldn't go. Without further ado, he sends his son to the concert - and thus finally ignites Lange's enthusiasm for music. He learns guitar, becomes a part-time guitar teacher himself, works as a dance and contract musician in various formations and founds the melodic death metal formation Gatecrusher, with which he releases an album. In addition to the guitar, the musician plays various other instruments in - according to him - "low perfection". Years later, by the way, Lange himself stands on the stage of Regensburg's Donau Arena - as guitarist of the Army Music Corps 4 Regensburg.
"Southern Stars" by Callider is the one-man debut of a musical virtuoso who does not stop at any boundary, no matter how firmly set. Occasionally, Lange even doesn't realize a song is finished until he's in the studio. "When recording, sometimes an incredible amount is still happening," he says. "I find it insanely exciting where music can go if you let it." Lange ventures into another sound experiment with the song "Broken Be The Love I Bear," which is actually a composition by his old metal band Gatecrusher. With Callider he reinterprets the number into a quiet acoustic instrumental accompanied by viola and cello. So on "Southern Stars" you can clearly hear what is possible in music - and a bit more.
